Symposium addresses mental health crisis in regional Austral

National and state-based panels at the inaugural Manna Institute symposium will feature government and business leaders, service providers and some of Australia's finest mental health researchers. Participants will focus their discussions on the ground-breaking efforts taken thus far, and what continues to be needed to bridge the divide that results in regional Australians experiencing higher levels of disadvantage and poorer mental health than their city counterparts.

Unique stressors - geographical, environmental, social and economic - and limited access to health services result in worse outcomes for regional people. And this worsens as distance from the city increases, as do suicide rates. People living outside metropolitan centres are at least 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than their city counterparts.

In a joint submission to government, Manna Institute and the Architects of Mental Health - a collaboration of federally-funded mental health research organisations - is calling for continued research focused on the most vulnerable in our community.

Manna Institute is a virtual alliance dedicated to developing solutions to pressing mental health and wellbeing challenges in our regions. In just three years, it has significantly advanced community-led mental health research in rural and regional Australia, and translated that research into tangible improvements in service delivery and policy.

Director Professor Myfanwy Maple said Manna Institute seeks to empower communities, scale mental health research and improve outcomes across diverse and underserved Australian populations.

"This symposium will showcase our achievements, host important conversations and see us announce a new platform for the inclusion of First Nations peoples in mental health research and intervention design," Professor Maple said. "Mobilising the collective strength of seven members of the Regional Universities Network and our foundation partners has seen Manna collaborate at all levels to advocate for and help deliver comprehensive mental health reform. Our tailor-made solutions help to solve real-world issues for some of Australia's most disadvantaged communities."

Manna Institute Director, Professor Myf Maple, is available for media interviews at 10.30am on Thursday 5 December at View Sydney, North Sydney or by prior arrangement.

Phone Liz Egan on 0404 418573 for more information.

Manna Institute

Manna Institute is a virtual institute of leading researchers working with industry and community partners to improve mental health and wellbeing in rural, regional and remote Australia. It is funded by a Commonwealth grant under the Regional Research Collaboration program and aims to foster meaningful research, professional workforce development, and the translation of research findings into practical, place-based programs. The institute's seven partner universities include Charles Sturt University, Central Queensland University, Federation University, Southern Cross University, the University of Southern Queensland, the University of Sunshine Coast and lead institution the University of New England. Our foundation partners include Lifeline Direct, Everymind and Australian National University Centre for Mental Health Research.

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